Chapter 2 - The Stolen Life
I stared at the photograph until my vision completely blurred with angry tears.
They had not made a spur-of-the-moment decision out of anger.
This was a calculated, vicious betrayal that had been planned long before I ever received that emergency phone call.
"He already had the legal paperwork," I muttered, my hands shaking as I handed the phone back to Zachary.
"That means he forged my signature on the cancellation forms."
Zachary took a slow sip of his coffee, his jaw clenching tight.
"I am a forensic accountant, Samantha."
"When I saw them celebrating while my daughter was fighting for her life, I made a few quick calls to look into Mr. Foster."
I felt a cold shiver run down my spine.
"What did you find?" I asked, terrified of the answer.
Zachary leaned forward, his expression turning deadly serious.
"Andrew didn't just cancel your wedding today."
"He used a power of attorney document to empty your joint savings account yesterday afternoon."
I pushed my chair back, the horrific reality crashing down on me all at once.
My entire life savings, the money I had earned through grueling eighty-hour weeks at the hospital, was completely gone.
I pulled out my own phone and desperately logged into my banking app.
The balance across all three of our shared accounts was exactly zero dollars.
"They took everything," I choked out, a wave of pure nausea hitting my stomach.
Zachary stood up and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"Not everything," he promised softly.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my palm with a new notification.
May you like
It was an automated email from my apartment building's management office.
The subject line read: "Eviction Notice - Change of Ownership Confirmed."
